The present invention relates to firearms, and it relates more particularly to improvements in firing mechanisms therefor in which means are provided for cocking the hammer in double-action.
The use of gears for cocking a pivoted hammer is disclosed in an early U.S. patent to Chamberlain No. 7,360 dated May 14, 1850, in which a gear segment on the hammer engages a cocking gear, which in turn is pivoted by a pawl on the trigger as the trigger is retracted. When the trigger reaches the end of its rearward stroke, the pawl releases the cocking gear, permitting it to be rotted by the hammer under the pressure of the hammer spring. Even though the use of gears for cocking a gun by means of the trigger provides a much smoother and more uniform trigger-pull throughout the stroke of the trigger than can be obtained using more conventional systems, very few firearms have employed gears for cocking the hammer.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved firing mechanism for firearms in which a pivoted hammer can be cocked by the trigger through a gear train in order to provide an easier and smoother pull during double-action.
It has also been proposed heretofore as disclosed in the U.S. Patent to Murphy No. 829,082 granted August 21, 1906 to mount the hammer on a member that is eccentrically pivoted on the frame of the gun in such a way that unless the trigger is pulled, the hammer is out of alignment with the firing pin, rendering it impossible to discharge a live cartridge in the chamber. However, when the trigger is pulled, the hammer is lowered bodily on the frame of the gun, bringing the striking portion of the hammer into alignment with the firing pin, so that when it is released by the trigger, it will strike the firing pin to fire the cartridge.
Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic hammer safety of this type in a firearm capable of firing either in single-action or in double-action.